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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · tear · safe · chest · file · shower · bore · fork

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chest — a box
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. shower — rain
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bore — to tire
  10. fork — in a road
  11. file — a tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a line of people
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bore — to drill
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com